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Wellness Series Spotlights a Campus Priority

Well-being is one of SUNY Cortland’s four priorities, along with academic excellence, transformational education and maximizing resources.

The campus continues to host a long-lived fall and spring weekly series to encourage the entire campus and community to pursue a lifetime of good health.

Sponsored by the Health Promotion Office and the Student Development Center, the Fall 2011 “Wellness Wednesday” series will take place each Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Corey Union Exhibition Lounge, unless otherwise noted. The events are free and open to the public.

Scheduled events are as follows:

• On Aug. 31, Louise Mahar, the College’s assistant director of recreational sports for fitness, will offer “A Non-Threatening Introduction to Yoga.” Participants will experience a beginner-level yoga class and should dress in loose, comfortable clothing and bring a towel.

• On Sept. 7, two SUNY Cortland student affairs representatives will discuss “So You’re in College: Now What?” Michael Holland, assistant to the vice president for student affairs, and Billie Jean Goff, interim director of counseling and student development, will address issues for first-year and transfer students, such as residence hall living, partying, homesickness, new relationships and peer pressure.

• On Sept. 14, participants can “Walk the Walk of Student Services” at an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Van Hoesen Hall and Corey Union. Visitors will be able to meet the student services staff and view the facilities of the University Police Department, student health services, counseling, student disability services, health promotion, substance abuse prevention and education, career services, residence life and housing, Academic Support and Achievement Program (ASAP), Emergency Squad, Tomik Fitness Facility and recreational sports, as well as Auxiliary Services Corporation and nutritional services. Staff from the Vice President for Student Affairs, Multicultural Life and Campus Activities offices will meet students in the Corey Union lobby. Refreshments will be served and prizes raffled.

• The College will offer a hands-on demonstration of the rape aggression defense (RAD) system on Sept. 21. The workshop, titled “It’s Totally RAD!” consists of self-defense techniques designed for awareness, prevention and risk reduction. The trainers will include members of the University Police Department, Cortland Against All Rape (CARR) and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Committee. Participants should wear workout clothes and sneakers.

• Erica Upshaw, who became a national presenter after losing her brother to an accidental drug and alcohol overdose, will give a talk on “Keep Friendship Alive” at 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 in the Corey Union Function Room. Upshaw will share her first-hand story using videos, interviews, audience interaction and humor to convey the importance of partying smart and keeping friends safe.

• The Southern Tier AIDS Program will offer a presentation titled “Living With HIV” on Oct. 5. An individual who has HIV will offer a personal story on living daily with this disease. Also the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display in Corey Union Function Room throughout the week.

• On Oct. 12, a panel of Health Department faculty, students and community members will focus on “Someone You Know is Gay. Does It Really Matter?” The panelists include: Kathryn Coffey, SUNY Cortland assistant professor of health; Aimee Greeley, health lecturer. The discussion is intended to increase an awareness and understanding of how everyone is impacted by diversity in human sexual orientation and gender identity.

• Jena Curtis, associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Health Department, will present “Relationships: Long Distance or Across the Hall — How to Keep it Alive” on Oct. 19. Curtis, who is the faculty advisor for the AIDS Prevention and Awareness Club (APAC), the campus sexual health club, will discuss how students can build and sustain fulfilling intimate relationships.

• Brittany Jarrard, a SUNY Cortland student and Zumba instructor, will lead participants in a workshop called “Zumba!” on Oct. 26. She will share some easy-to-follow moves put to Latin rhythms that can be used to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program. Zumba offers outrageous fun and exercise, too.

• Mary Dykeman, public health educator at the Jacobus Center for Reproductive Health, will give a talk on “Magical Thinking” on Nov. 2. Dykeman, acting the role as “Your Fairy Godmother,” will explain how magical thinking prevents students from making safe, healthy decisions when it comes to sex.

• On Nov. 9, a panel of speakers including Noelle Chaddock Paley, the College’s director of multicultural life and diversity, will address the topic of “BEing Civil is All About BEing Human: LGBTQ and Communities of Color." Participants are invited to engage in an open dialogue about how the College community can move forward.

• On Nov. 16, the campus and community are invited to take part in the “Great American Smoke Out — Go Cold Turkey” from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on the first floor of Corey Union. Health promotion interns will be available to help individuals sign the pledge on Wednesday to quit for the day on Thursday. Health Promotion and the Tobacco Advisory Committee are hosting this event.

For more information or accommodation to attend an event, contact Catherine Smith, the College’s health educator, in Van Hoesen Hall, Room B-1, or at (607) 753-2066.